ATLANTA — Ryan Blaney shoved his Penske teammate Joey Logano to the front on an overtime restart to give the latter driver a win at Atlanta to begin the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Logano raced side-by-side with Daniel Suárez in a Penske vs. Trackhouse Racing duel on the first two rows. Blaney's push to Logano was much more precise than Ross Chastain's push to Suárez, allowing Logano to clear the pack and race off to the win. By the time the field came to the checkered flag, Chastain lost control and wrecked, taking out Harrison Burton, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, and others.
"When it's playoff time it's our time," Logano said. "My teammate Blaney behind me really helped out on that last lap. Good day for all the Penske cars."
Suárez followed in second as Blaney, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman closed out the top five.
Playoff drivers stayed in the front of the field in the first two stages, including those who are predicted to not make it past the first round. Austin Cindric grabbed 19 valuable stage points by winning stage two and finishing second in stage one. Alex Bowman scored 16 stage points and Suárez earned seven stage points.
Kyle Larson's day ended early in stage one when his car jerked toward the wall and made a heavy impact. Chase Briscoe was the only other driver collected in the wreck, putting him in a huge hole after the first playoff race. Larson's regular season points cushion keeps him 15 points ahead of the cutline even with the last-place finish on Sunday.
A wreck in the final stage badly damaged Martin Truex Jr. and Chris Buescher. Ryan Blaney, who led a lot in the early goings was also slightly damaged but was able to continue.
Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, and Suárez spent time out front during a run in the closing laps when a Walmart advertising sign fell on the track, prompting a debris caution.
Logano and Suárez dueled for the lead on the ensuing restart when Noah Gragson wrecked with two laps to go.
On the final restart, Suárez got an early advantage on Logano with Chastain behind him but Blaney guided Logano back to the lead during the lap. The Penske push on the inside line prevailed as Suárez's help on the outside dissolved.
The win locks Logano into the next round of the playoffs. Two races remain until the playoff grid shrinks from 16 to 12.
The second race of the Round of 16 is at Watkins Glen International Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 15.
NASCAR playoff standings:
- Joey Logano - WIN
- Ryan Blaney - 2071
- Christopher Bell - 2066
- Tyler Reddick - 2059
- William Byron - 2059
- Alex Bowman - 2053
- Austin Cindric - 2053
- Chase Elliott - 2050
- Daniel Suárez - 2048
- Kyle Larson - 2041
- Denny Hamlin - 2028
- Ty Gibbs - 2027
- Brad Keselowski - 2026
- Harrison Burton - 2011
- Martin Truex Jr. - 2008
- Chase Briscoe - 2006